Glenn Pearson - PhD student and Acting Manager, Kulunga Research Network

 

Glenn Pearson is a proud father, a proud Noongar and a proud Fremantle Dockers supporter who one day dreams of a purple-coloured premiership.  He is also one of the busiest people at the Institute, juggling his role as acting manager of the Kulunga Research Network with the demands of a PhD.
“I have always thrived on being busy – I figure I’ll have time to relax later but at the moment, there is so much I want to achieve,” says Glenn.
Glenn grew up in Perth wanting to be an air force pilot from a young age, but became a primary school teacher.  However, after graduating from university with a teaching degree, the first 15 years of his professional career were spent away from the classroom in positions within the Federal and State Governments in a range of areas including health, education and social welfare.  
“I have been directly involved in the design and delivery of a range of government initiatives including the Building Blocks Early Years 0-8 Strategy, the Aboriginal School-Based Traineeships, the WA Government’s Justice Agreement as well as being involved in the WA State Government’s response to the Gordon Inquiry,” explains Glenn.
During this time, Glenn was a member of the secretariat to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission for four years.  He was also involved in several reference groups engaged in high level negotiations to bring about improved circumstances for Aboriginal children, families, and communities.
“Being Noongar, I have always had an interest in improving the circumstances of Aboriginal people,” says Glenn.
“I don’t personally believe that we have to accept the things that happen around us or the role that we are cast as the one that you are stuck with for life - I’m interested in working out what stops us or helps us to be the fantastic things that we are for ourselves and for our families and communities.”
This has been a common theme for Glenn throughout his career, and continues in his work at the Institute.  He joined the Institute in 2005 as part of the WA Aboriginal Child Health Survey team which produced four volumes of survey findings, with Glenn contributing to the analysis, writing and communication of three of these volumes.
“I believe that this study went a long way to providing us with a lot of information that will help us to develop preventative strategies that promote the healthy development of Indigenous kids - I was proud to play a role in that,” says Glenn.
In 2006, Glenn enrolled in his PhD which will explore how the delivery of health, education and child protection services provided by the WA State Government to Aboriginal clients is mediated by the perceptions that non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people hold of themselves and each other in the provision and receiving of these services.  However, Glenn is quick to point out that his research is not purely restricted to the Indigenous community.
“While my research is concerned with the improvement of the circumstances of Aboriginal families, it is also focussed on improving the circumstances of those who deliver these services - non-Aboriginal people,” explains Glenn.
“I think that what I do in seeking to improve the circumstances of Aboriginal people and their families has equal merit in improving the circumstances of all families in the State.”
For two days a week, Glenn is Acting Manager of Kulunga which aims to build the capacity for Aboriginal people to conduct research and training into Indigenous health issues. Glenn took on the role at the end of 2008 and he is involved in all aspects of Kulunga, including managing corporate partnerships and steering the direction of the research.
“We have three major projects currently underway with more in the pipeline so there is a lot to keep a handle on, but I have a fantastic team supporting me - without them, Kulunga would not be the success story that it is,” Glenn says.
In the short term, Glenn wants to finish his PhD but he always has the future in mind.  
“In the long term I want to grow some more research muscle around my current abilities to be a brilliant researcher and social scientist.  I also want to have a blend of teaching the next generation of researchers and be involved in some form of practice, where I can apply the learning and stay connected to the reality of what is happening on the ground so that I stay true to it in my research.”
Despite his busy lifestyle, Glenn never loses sight of the reasons behind his decision to pursue research, and uses these as motivation to keep working hard.
“The most important part of my life is my family and children.  They remind me that what we do today can have a very powerful effect on the next generation...that the values that we have at the dinner table can live through to your grandchildren’s lives.  Their stories at the end of the day remind me of why we do what we do as researchers.”